Eligibility Criteria and Required Documentation
Volusia Cares Emergency Rent & Mortgage Assistance Program
Request for Assistance Process
The number of pre-screenings accepted will be limited on a weekly basis. If the limit has been reached, please check back on Monday morning at 8 AM. Pre-screenings and applications will NOT be accepted through email or phone.
LINC Me Platform
The Volusia Cares Emergency Rent & Mortgage Assistance Program is utilizing a platform called LINC Me for communication and documentation collection. After you submit a pre-screening form, you will be invited to join the LINC Me Platform via email and text (email and phone number you provided in the pre-screening survey). The text invitation will come from 617-934-6298 and the email will come from no-reply@lincme.org (make sure you check your junk mail box).
You can download and use the LINC Me app or user your login to access the platform through any internet browser.
Documentation
In order for your eligibility for assistance to be determined, you must provide all required documents for every household member. Failure to submit all required documents may lead to your assistance being delayed or denied.
All documents provided must be clear, legible and ideally in color. Multi-page documents such as leases must be uploaded in a .pdf format as one file. There are free apps available for your phone that can convert photographs to multi-page .pdf documents. Other documents, such as identification and birth certificates, can be uploaded as photograph/image files (.jpeg, .jpg, .png) as long as they are clear and legible.
Rent & Mortgage Program Eligibility Summary. PLEASE REVIEW CAREFULLY
- Proof of Residency: This program is only available for residents of Volusia County. The applicant’s Identification must include the current address, and that address must be in Volusia County.
- Household Income: Your annual household income, including all sources of income for all household members, must be below the 200% Federal Poverty Guidelines. Annual income is calculated based on the documentation provided for the last 30 days.
- 1 Person Household: $30,120 Annual Income limit
- 2 Person Household: $40,880 Annual Income limit
- 3 Person Household: $51,640 Annual Income limit
- 4 Person Household: $62,400 Annual Income limit
- 5 Person Household: $73,160 Annual Income limit
- 6 Person Household: $83,920 Annual Income limit
- 7 Person Household: $94,680 Annual Income limit
- 8 Person Household: $105,440 Annual Income limit
- For each additional person in the household, add $10,760
Reportable Income may included:
-
- Work wages
- Self-employment income
- Social Security/Supplemental Security Income
- Unemployment benefits
- Cash assistance
- Pension/retirement
- VA Retirement/Disability
- Child support
- Other income
- Proof of Past Due: You must provide documentation that your rent or mortgage payment is past due. This documentation must be something you received from your landlord or mortgage company. If you have a pending legal eviction or foreclosure, you are not eligible for assistance.
- Proof of Identity and Household Makeup: You must provide identification for all members of your household.
- Driver’s License or State ID for all Adults
- Driver’s license, State ID, Birth Certificate or Immunization Record for all minors under age 18 in the household
- Social Security Card for all household members, adults and minors
- Hardship: you must describe and document the hardship that caused you to fall behind on rent or mortgage payments. You may be asked to provide documentation of your stated hardship.
- Rental Agreement: for rental assistance, you must provide a copy of a current (not expired) lease with all included pages that is signed and executed. Note: if your household already receives some form of ongoing government rental assistance (Section 8, TBRA, public housing, subsidized housing) you are not eligible for this program.
- Mortgage Statement: for mortgage assistance, you must provide a full mortgage statement that shows a past due amount and includes all mortgage details, including the mortgage company and contact information.
- If your landlord/mortgage company does not agree to accept payment through this program, you are not eligible for assistance.
- Limits on Assistance: The maximum amount of rent or mortgage assistance is limited to TWO MONTHS of Fair Market Rent amounts noted below, REGARDLESS of the amount of your actual rent or mortgage payments. Only rent costs (for rental assistance) and principal/interest costs (for mortgage assistance) can be covered—no other fees or charges can be covered by the assistance. The applicant must make arrangements with the landlord or mortgage company to cover all costs that are not covered by the assistance awarded.
- Efficiency: $1,178
- One Bedroom: $1,404
- Two-Bedroom: $1,718
- Three-Bedroom: $2,260
- Four-Bedroom: $2,424
- Frequency of Assistance: Applicants are only eligible for rent or mortgage assistance one time every 365 days. If you have received assistance from the County of Volusia in the last year, you are not eligible for assistance through this program.
- Appeal Process: If you feel that you have been unfairly denied assistance, click here to learn more about the appeal process. Please note that no eligibility requirement or documentation requirement can be waived under any circumstances.
Submit a Pre-Screening Form
- The maximum number of pre-screenings has been met this week.
- Please check back on Monday morning at 8 AM. Pre-screenings and applications will not be accepted through email or phone.
If you think you may not be eligible for this assistance program or are looking for other resources, visit here.